GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids City Commission has approved the city’s budget for the next fiscal year.

In total, the plan includes $643 million worth of spending.

“This $643 million fiscal plan will help to move our city forward and address many important issues related to safety, health, environment, mobility, economic prosperity, housing and community engagement,” City Manager Mark Washington said in a statement.

Investments in health and environment amount to $201 million. This includes Park and Park Amenities improvements for 11 parks, PFAS remediation of Ash Lagoon, lead service line replacement and the Lead Hazard Control Program. It also invests in integrating social worker expertise into the Police Mobile Crisis Response team and the Homeless Outreach Team.

About $14.5 million and an additional $46.5 million is budgeted for economic prosperity and affordability. This money will go toward increasing affordable housing options, preventing and reducing homelessness, supporting the Grand River Greenway and the New Community Transformation Fund.

Just over $100 million will be dedicated to mobility. That means things like e-bike and e-scooter contracts, expanding DASH hours and service area, neighborhood greenways to improve biking with traffic calming, signage and pavement marking measures. Some of it will be used for an electric vehicle carshare program in the MLK Park and Burton Heights neighborhoods. The sidewalk snow assist program will also be expanded.

About $139.7 million has been budgeted for community safety. That means land for a future fire training center, funding for GVSU Police Academy and third-party services to make police staffing and responsiveness better. The money will also go toward supporting the police and fire departments’ Homeless Outreach Team and programs like Cure Violence, SAFE Task Force, and other crime prevention programs.

A little over $20 million has been budgeted toward engaging with the community through neighborhood-based organizations and activities like Commission Night Out and Neighborhood Summit. Some funding will also go toward bringing Wi-Fi to public parks.

A budgeted $167.1 million is set to go toward governmental excellence. This means support for city employees, human resources recruiting, hiring and retention. An internship program, Grow1000 youth employment initiative and the Fire Cadet Program and Candidate Physical Agility Test will also be part of the investments.

“There is a lot in this budget that I believe is going to have a positive impact on neighborhoods and the places we love,” said Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss. “While this budget accomplishes much, I recognize there will always be more work to be done. I am equally grateful for our residents, community leaders, businesses and partners who walk alongside us and collaborate in this important work.”

The 2024 fiscal year begins July 1.